The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-03-16
Miser Paine and His Money.

One of the most remarkable cases
that has ever been tried in New York
is drawing to a close in the surrogate's
court. 1t is the fight over the will of
James Henry Paine, the misery brother
of the late Robert Treat Paine of Bos-
ton. For three months the legal battle
has been waging fiercely with an i'm
petus that only hundreds of thousands of
dollars can give to lawyers. Paine was
one of the most secretive men that ever
lived and never told anybody anything
about himself His one desire, next to
boarding money, was to keep himself
obscure, but it is rarely that a man has
his life so infinitely detailed as this old
skinflnt has in the past few weeks.
For years he lived in an attic in the
worst slums of the city with only a
broken chair, clothesless bed and an
old hair-covered trunk for furnishings
He was passonately fond of music and
spent his time among the lovers of the
same art, where he was welcomed on ac-
count of his intellectual powers and de-
votion to music. Although he never
crossed the ocean, he knew more about
foreign countries than most travellers,
and he religiously read all the news
papers, but probably never in forty
years bought one. AS he grew older
his hobby gained on him and he cur
tailed every expense save the pittance
he paid for his dingy attic. He hung
about garbage barrels, picked fruit and
vegetables from the gutter and begged
bits of food at restaurants. In hard
times, when he had temporarily ex-
hausted his food supply, fve-cent loaf
dined him royalty for a day or more.
No matter what his necessity, he never
spent cent, and even a few days be-
fore he died, last Christmas, when he
had slipped and broken his leg, he would
not be nursed on account of the eX-
pense. He was ragged and filthy be-
yond imagination, and in twenty years
never bought an article of clothing
The condition of his wearing apparel
depended entirely upon how recent had
been the latest gift to him. And yet
inside of the rags he always carried
from $4,000 to 100000 and more in
money. He had it in his hat, in his
boots and sewed into the lining of his
shiny old black coat and vest. The old
miser haunted Dingwall' famous
musical headquarters-and in twenty
years never spent a nickel there,
although he always ate and drank
enough for five men when asked. He
enjoyed the friendship CT millionaires,
but in many years of constant compan-
| ionship not one of his intimates was
ever able to discover where he lived
When money was given him he never
spent it, and on rainy nights, when
handed his car-fare, he would promise
to use it, and then shove it in his pocket
and walk to his attic. In every way
the story of his life is marvellous
Years ago he handed Mr.. Chickering
the piano man, a bundle done up in &
red bandana handkerchief for him tC
keep in his safe. 1t was not until after
the miser's death that it was opened
and then, behold! it was found to con
tain S400, 900 in money. 1t is this sun
and a considerable amount more that
the niggardly old mans friend, Ward
well, is trying to get hold Of Ward
well says that Paine made will in his
favor, but the document cannot be
found. The relatives of Paine, on the
other hand, contend that the misel
never on any preteXt could be induced
to sign his name, and that he had {
horror of legal documents. The money
they claim is theirs as next of kin, an(
a three months fight has been re
CURED to get all the testimony in. The
case is about over now, and it will be
interesting to see into whose hands the
surrogate gives the money.-Ne,c Yorl